Dressed in Red
by hellomynameislucifer
Summary: Takes place right after the 'Jack the Ripper' case. Grell/Will. I DO NOT OWN KUROSHITSUJI OR ITS CHARACTERS
1. Chapter 1: What to Do?

**CHAPTER 1: **What to Do?

Grell pouts at his desk, bored out of his mind. Why couldn't he just get some fieldwork? Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. This is the only thing he is allowed to do after THE INCIDENT. He did not even kill that many people! It was only twelve or so... Then, his scythe was confiscated, William had lectured him, and he had been confined to an office. How utterly dull and frustrating. Although, getting lectured by Will had not been TOO bad. Grell mentally chastises himself. Now is NOT the time to lose focus, especially since he is not allowed to leave until he finishes every last one of these papers. Grell cringes when he sees that not even half of it is done.

The red-headed shinigami sighs and angrily yanks a paper off the top of the pile. He mutters a few curses under his breath as the minutes turn to hours and day changes to night. Even considering how late it is, Grell does not stop working until he is done; there is really no reason to have even more work to do the next day. Once the huge amount of work is finally finished, Grell finds he is to tired to get up and instead falls asleep on the desk.

* * *

"Sutcliffe! Get up and listen!"

The red-head lifts his head and rubs his eyes beaneath his glasses. When he sees the scowling shinigami standing in front of the desk, his heart gives a little flutter. It takes every last ounce of his willpower to not just leap over the desk and pull the other into his arms. No, now is probably not a good time for that. Then again, it never is and he always gets pushed away, despite the timing. Not in the mood to get yelled at, Grell straightens up in his seat and looks the other dead in the eye.

"I am already awake, William. What do you need?"

The words come out a bit harsh, and Grell resists the urge to start acting up when a look of shock crosses William's features.

"Well... You were sleeping on the desk AND none of your paperwork is finished."

Grell smirks when Will gestures towards the finished pile.

"Not done? Check again, William darling."

The look of shock only deepens when Will looks at the papers.

"All of them?"

"Mhmm."

The brunette regains his composure and uses his death scyhe to fix his glasses. Grell feels a pang of jealousy when he sees the gesture, instantly wishing he had his own scythe. His attention turns back to the shinigami before him.

"Well, then I suppose you have some free time until I find work for you. Don't cause any trouble, in the meantime."

"I won't."

Grell waits until William turns and leaves before giving a silent fist-pump and planning what to do with his free time.

* * *

After a few minutes of wandering around the building (and seeing that he had been woken up at 12:30 in the afternoon), Grell knocks on Will's door and lets himself into the office. The other shinigami looks up and frowns before going back to his work. Grell walks over to the chair in front of the desk and wordlessly plops himself down on the seat.

"What do you want, Sutcliffe?"

"Mmm, I wanted to know if I could go out somewhere for lunch."

"No."

The red-head shrugs, unsurprised. Grell had not been allowed out of the building for an entire month, unless he had some sort of escort. That escort usually ended up being William since no one trusted any of the others to be able to reign in the flamboyant shinigami in the case that he became interested in something. At first, Grell had been angry and even went so far as to start throwing a fit for most of the month. Yesterday was the day he decided to stop with that nonsense and actually complete some work.

The only one Grell had not made much of a fuss with was William. Naturally, Will did not even notice this and probably just assumed Grell was too busy ignoring him. The truth, however, was that Grell really DID like Will. Everyone thought it was just some infatuation like it typically was, but this time is a bit different. Of course, Will would never return those feelings and Grell does not expect him to. Still, it does hurt a little. William glances up again when Grell makes no move to either leave or speak.

"Don't you have anything better to do than sit around here?"

Grell raises an eyebrow, "Like what? I don't have any work and none of the others are in."

Will sighs, "Fine. Just don't bother me, in the meantime."

"I won't."

With this, both shinigamis lapse into silence. Grell eventually takes of his gloves, puts them in his lap, and takes out a nail file. The brunette occasionally pauses in his work long enough to make sure the unwanted company is behaving, hiding surprise every time he does so. The red-head is being unusually quiet, and while it is a refreshing change, it is also a bit worrying. Did something happen to make him so quiet? William finds himself imagining all of the trouble Grell could have gotten into, then shakes his head and pushes aside the thought.

Grell sees his companion shake his head out of the corner of his eyes and represses the urge to ask about it. Obviously SOMETHING is bothering the other, and Grell has a vague idea what it could be. He does not say anything, though, and continues to file his nails until they are perfect. After a few minutes of doing nothing, Grell decides to break the silence.

"Have a lot of work to do?"

"Yes, and I would appreciate it if you left me to finish it so I do not have any overtime."

"I could help, if you want."

"No, you will do no such thing."

"Fine. Then, do you have anything for me to read?"

At this comment, William completely loses focus and furrows his brow at his redheaded companion.

"You read?"

Grell rolls his eyes, "Yes, I do. So, do you?"

"Do I? Oh, right. Over on the bookcase. Make sure you put it back when you're done."

"Mhmm, I will. Thank you."

William gives a curt nod and returns to his work as Grell slides off the seat and practically skips over to the white bookcase. He finds something pretty quickly, then makes his way over to the door. Just before he leaves, Grell looks over at Will and flashes a wide smile.

"I'll give this back, later."

With these words, Grell winks at the seated shinigmi, blows a kiss, and leaves. William shakes his head and returns to his work, soon forgetting that anyone had ever interrupted him at all.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry I still have not uploaded Chapter Two of "In the Dark, Of the Light!" I write this during school as compensation. And, no, I did not put that one off to write this! The other one requires research, and this does not, so that is why I even made this. I will continue. Feel free to suggest/request other characters. I might even make this have a plot, but who knows. Well, thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2: Unsuspected

**CHAPTER 2:** Unsuspected

By the time Grell is finally given more work, it is around 4:00 in the afternoon and he has already finished reading "Romeo and Juliet." He had been quite pleased (and a little surprised) to find THAT particular work in William's shelf. The other reaper would probably just brush it off by saying the work was a masterpiece and any self-respecting being would have at least read the thing. Still, the thought alone of Will holding this book and reading these same words sends a little jold of happiness through the distracted shinigami.

No, now is not the time for that. Even though the workload is considerably lighter, there IS a good enough amount that it would be best to finish early, leat he find himself sleeping on the desk for the second night in a row. Now THERE is an unappealing thought. Just thinking about it motivated the reaper to work harder, and by the time he finishes it is only 8:30. Grell stretches his arms and yawns. All h. Has to do is turn this in and he can go sleep in his borrowed room.

Grell puts the copy of "Romeo and Juliet" on top of the neat pile, then carefully picks everything up and makes his way out of the cramped office. He balances the papers in his left hand, turns off the light, then closes the door and locks it. The Work desk only has one reaper, who appears bored out of her mind, and the spacious room is otherwise empty. Grell gives the woman his name and takes the book off of his pile before handing the papers over to her. She enters something into the computer then tells him he is good to go.

His next destination is William's office and the white bookshelf in the room. It takes the reaper about fie minutes to find the right door, which happens to be unlocked. Grell walks in quietly, although he is unsure why. The light is on, but the office is empty. Grell frowns; is Will here, or did he expect Grell to return the book and lock up himself? The red-head shrugs and makes his way ober to the shelf, only to suddenly be blocked by a silver blur.

"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here, sneaking into my office?"

"Shit, Will! I was just putting this back."

Grell waves the book in front of the other reaper's face and tries to ignore his pounding heart. He definitely did NOT expect William to attack him. Good thing he has good reflexes. Will sighs and fixes his glasses with his scythe before returning to his desk. He closes a file and puts it back in a drawer, then stands up straight and fixes his glasses again.

"Next time, don't sneak around or I might actually hit you. I don't need to do more paperwork just because you decided to walk in unnannounced."

Grell huffs, "Yeah, yeah. No need to get all worried over such a silly thing. It's not like I expected you to be sitting at your desk and not be hising, or anything."

"I wasn't hiding, Sutcliffe. I was just out of view."

"Right. Well, good night, William."

Grell slides the book back inits proper places, the whirls around on his heel and stalks towards the door. He stops to say something, thinks better on it, and slams the door behind him. William pinches the bridge of his nose. Just what the hell happened to make the red reaper's attitude change so drastically and in such a short amount of time?

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for such a short chapter! I know I just updated this, but I actually had some inspiration and decided to type this up before I forgot. I will try to make the next chapter longer! Again, reviews are appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3: Freedom at Last

CHAPTER 3: Freedom At Last

Finall! After weeks of waiting and doing crazy amounts of paperwork, Grell is allowed out on a job! Naturally, he is only permitted to use one of the same death scythes used when he and William were first tested, but at least he can get out for a bit. Will does not seem too happy about the idea of Grell tagging along, but the office is short-handed and everyone else had already been booked.

"Oh, come on. It's not THAT bad, William. And this way you won't have any overtime."

"That's only if you don't mess up."

Grell waves a hand dismissively, "I've been doing all my work EARLY for the past few weeks, so this should be no problem. Besides, I haven't been out in forever, so this will be a chance for me to stretch my legs."

"That's exactly the reason why I think you'll be more of a nuisance than a help."

The red-head rolls his eyes, but does not retort. It has been two days since the incident with the book, and neither reaper has brought it up. William had expected at least a small hint of pouting on Grell's part, but has received no such reaction. Aside from this and the previous strange behavior, Grell has returned to his usual obnoxious self. Maybe it had just been the drastic amount of work that normally would not have been finished yet.

"Will, look. This is the place, right?"

The brunnette nods and leaps down from the two story house and onto the ground below. Grell follows him past the police and into the alley next to the building. The two shinigami enter through a window and are welcomed by the sight of about twenty corpses. Some appear to be shot or stabbed, while other seem to have just stopped breathing.

"I wonder what the motive was, to have killed so many..."

William glances back at Grell while they both get to work. Grell struggles a bit with the unfamiliar scythe, but he manages without too much trouble.

"Shouldn't you if all people know?"

Grell hides his grimace by turning his head away to look at the next soul he has to reap. Why does William have to bring THAT up? Well, maybe he did set himself up for it. Still, this is just one if those things Grell would like to start putting behind him.

"That was mostly out of curiosity. These people all have something in common. There was a reason, however twisted, for the killings."

"Whatever it is, it's probably a better reason than curiosity."

Grell grips his scythe tighter and slashes the cinematic record of a young girl with a bit more violence than necessary; the action does not go unnoticed by William.

"Isn't that how we're supposed to be? Uncaring and cold? It's not my fault I got curious..."

"No, our job is to reap those on the list, not to kill unnecessarily."

"You know that's not... Nevermind. Forget it."

The truth is that Grell really has no good defense. No matter what he says, it will not change the fact that he did something so stupid and reckless. And, the funny thing about the whole ordeal is that Grell actually FEELS something about it. Is it shame? He thinks it might be a bit of that. How strange that a reaper would feel like this; how strange that he would feel at all.

More than anything, Grell actually prides himself in these feelings. Death gods are not supposed to feel anything about their job, but he does, to a certain extent. The reaper assumes that this is one of many reasons that most of the ither shinigami considerhim to be an enig ma. Although, the term may contain a certain amount of truth. Grell will have to think about it.

The silence is finally broken when the red shinigami finishes reaping a young blonde woman with a bullet in the side of her head and her face covered in a lovely crimson. Will straightens up from his last soul and flicks his eyes over to his contemplative companion. Will has to admit that Grell has not been much of a bother. In fact, he has actually been quite the opposite.

"Are you finished?"

"Mhmm. You?"

Will gibes a curt nod, "In that case, there is no need for us to remain here. We'll file the paperwork, then finish for the day."

"Sounds good enough, to me."

The reapers head back to the building without saying a thing, which suits Will just fine. Once the pair enters the lobby, they go their seperate ways and begin filing the paperwork. It is filled out rather quickly by both reapers, and they turn it in by the end of the day. Grell stretches and yawns as he passes by William, doing so in a very feminine way. Will takes note of this and resists rolling hjs eyes.

"'Night, William darling."

The red-head does not wait for an answer, knowing he will not get one. Even so, he cannot help but feel content, humming happily as he walks dkwn the empty halls and to his room. Grell makes a face as he enters the boring white bedroom, but soon loses interest as he readies himself for bed. He slips out of his coat, vest, and collared shirt and exchanges them with a light red nightgown.

Grell moves over into the bathrom and takes off his faux eyelashes, brushes his hair, and washes his face. Then, he eturns to his room and takes off his shoes and pants, placing them neatly by the door. As he settles into the bed, Grell allows himself a small smile at the thougbt of fjnally having a bit of freedom,and with William, no less. Tomorrow, he will definitely be in higher spirits; no pun intended.

* * *

A/N: I still have not finished Chapter 2 of my Claude fanfic, but don't worry; I am pretty sure that it is lmost done. I just haven't had much time, is all. Until then, please enoy this newest chapter! Reviews are motivators, by the way, but I will not just continue based on those. I actually check my view count periodically. Thanks for reading and keep a lookout for my next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4: Habits

**Chapter 4:**

And just like that, Grell is back to his old self, with a slightly calmer demeanor. William shakes his head almost imperceptibly as he hears the red-head raise his voice in indignation at some demeaning remark. Will makes himself some coffee. He means to go straight to his office from here, but naturally this is not what happens.

"Good morning, my dear William."

Will sighs and adjusts his glasses. Against his better judgement, the Dispatch Manager turns around and looks at his subordinate. Grell sits at a table and nurses a cup of coffee while reading a book."

"Yes, I suppose it is."

Grell smirks without even a glance up from his book and motions for William to sit down. He obliges, not quite sure why he does so. The re reaper says nothing for a full minutes, which is just long enough for ill to start wondering if something is wrong.

"So, have any work for me?"

William raises an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Oh, anything, though I assume you already know I would prefer fieldwork."

"Not to my immediate knowledge. You'll have to check your mailbox," William takes a sip of his coffee.

"Already did. There was nothing there."

"I'm guessing you have no intention of just sitting and waiting in your office."

William expresses this as a statement rather than a question, which is probably the reason Grell finally looks up from his book. The red-head grins, and Will wonders if he should have just kept his mouth shut.

"Are you suggesting I could go to _your_ office, instead?"

Will sighs, "No, but I suppose you could. In any case, it will keep you out of trouble."

"Are you sure about that?"

William narrows his eyes, "Are you planning on bothering me while I work?"

"Not unless you want m to."

The brunette stands up and adjusts his glasses again. Grell's green eyes follow his every movement as he waits impatiently for William to invite him to the office.

"Alright, let's go, Sutcliff."

The red reaper slides a bookmark into his book and snaps it shut. He uncrosses his legs, picks up his cup, and bounds after Will's retreating form.

As much as William rejects Grell's affections, the red-head cannot help but be enamored by the brunette. Of course, Will only sees this as Grell's usual shenanigans.

They reach the office without a word, and the red-head retreats to the bookshelf. William raises an eyebrow when Grell returns with _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. He always imagined the flamboyant reaper to be drawn to more dramatic literature. He internally shakes himself and begins his work.

It continues to go on like this, Grell following William into his office, picking something from the available works, then plopping himself into his favourite spot. Eventually, he runs out of books and starts bringing his own. Will finds he does not mind it that much. If fact, he finds he does not mind it at all.

* * *

Author's Note: I am so sorry for not finishing this, before! I also apologize for how short this chapter is. However, it has not been finished due to a lack of response. Really, even one comment makes all the difference. I believe I already mentioned such (if not in this fic, then another); without any type of feedback, updates will come slower, if not at all. Again, I'm not fishing for reviews (even though it definitely seems like I am just saying that). I am simply making you all aware that I am a HUGE procrastinator.

If anyone decides they want me to continue this, the last two paragraphs can easily be removed, and the story can continue. I doubt anyone will ask, but I figured I might as well put it out there. Even if someone asks me years from now, if I am still on , I'll get to it. Well, thanks for reading, and I hope you (sort of) enjoyed this short fanfic. Again, apologies for the lack of depth/length.

EDIT: Thank you so much for the reviews and favorites! Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I have had to drop a few things. Instead of not writing newer things, I've decided to drop some of my older fics. I am so sorry for doing this, but I really don't have the time (or motivation) to continue these. I might write/type some shorter fics in my spare time, but these will end up being pretty much unfinished. In the future, I might add more/complete this, but don't put too much hope into that. Again, thank you so much, and I really am sorry.


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